Pushing peace, responsible environmentalism and conscious outdoor recreation by promoting the ideals and philosophy of the outdoor lifestyle.

Monday, April 22, 2013

Snow, tragedy and trees on the road in Southern Minnesota 2013

Old Miss

We are gnarled and torn

I had a crazy road trip last week. It was a swing into Southern Minnesota and Wisconsin. The trip itself was not crazy, the tone and the mood of it was however. I was stuck in the car listening intently to NPR and the Boston Marathon Tragedy. When I say tragedy I mean the whole thing. The poor folks and the suspected bombers.

I had nowhere to go. I was just sitting there Marinating in the story. I thought long and hard about the victims and how stupid it all was. Then as the chase and the apprehension of the two boys that most likely perpetrated the crime I was forced to really think about them.

What I really started to think about was brothers and how much I love my brother.

Then I thought about what intense madness and love must have been involved to make them go out and bomb the marathon. Then to listen as they were hunted down, to have your brother shot next to you, to be the worst person in the world at 19 and then to lay dying in a boat while the world watched and waited....it was pretty damn emotional stuff to thing about. I also was touched as a parent. No matter how horrible a crime these two committed they were somebodies kid and those kids got so steered wrong that it was hard not to lament all if it, all of the tragedy and the brutal stupidity of it all.

Meanwhile I was listening to an amazing weather report. 20 inches of snow predicted in my hood. April 19th? New records for snow broken, my wife and child stuck at the Airport....what a crazy damn week.

Visually all I could see were trees. Everywhere I looked they seemed so tortured and so bleak. Just sticks bearing witness to the human craziness. After a while I had to stop and photograph them just to stay sane.

Ride Riding Hoods walk to Grandmas house

Bones of the earth

Eagles over tragedy

Eventually I reached Minneapolis and it was full on storming. I set down at the Happy Gnome and was immediately set upon a very "interesting individual" I was not sure what his game was, but whatever it was it was intense. Despite his ever present jabbering I was able to drink a really good Rodenbach and have a good meal.